The First Separation
by Six of Twelve
Summary: Severus Snape and Lily Evans spend the summer of 1971 looking forward to their first year at Hogwarts together. Will things turn out as they planned?


_Author's note: I haven't written a story in the Harry Potter genre since _Hermione's Choice, _which I completed over ten years ago. This is a fairly long one-shot, which I hope you enjoy._

During the summer of 1971, Severus Snape and Lily Evans had spent nearly every available moment together, daydreaming about and planning their first year at Hogwarts. By the beginning of August, both Severus and Lily had received their Hogwarts letters and, since that time, they could think of little else.

Severus had been there when Lily finally had the proof to show her parents that she really was a witch, just as he'd told her two years before, and, to their credit, they'd accepted the news with a minimum of adjustment time. By the time Minerva McGonagall had visited the Evans household, as she did for all Muggleborn first years, her parents had become enthusiastic about the idea.

Of course, Professor McGonagall had not visited his house, considering that he was a half-blood and had known since early childhood that he was a wizard. It was better that way, considering that his alcoholic Muggle father hated everything to do with magic, and it was better for Severus if his father was reminded of the topic as least often as could be helped.

As it was, Tobias Snape had felt betrayed that he 'd found out his wife was a witch only after they'd been married and not before. When it turned out that his only son was magical, too, Tobias had barely tolerated him from then on, and Severus had learned to stay out of his way as much as possible. When his Hogwarts letter had arrived, Tobias had considered forbidding him from attending Hogwarts, but Eileen had managed to persuade him to change his mind by telling him he'd not have to pay for it. Still, as volatile as he was, Severus didn't want to chance doing anything that might cause him to change his mind again.

One afternoon, early in August, Severus went to the park where he'd first met Lily two years before, waiting to see her there. Severus had arrived early, leaving the house not long after dawn, not wanting to risk his father's ire when he woke up from a drunken slumber. He'd settled himself under the tree with his mother's old first year Potions textbook to keep himself occupied until she arrived. Severus had been to the Evans home before, but it was too early for him to go there now. Plus, he tried to avoid Lily's unpleasant Muggle sister Petunia as much as possible.

Fortunately, he didn't have long to wait. Before he could finish one chapter in the book, she came skipping up along the creek bank.

Plopping herself down next to him, she announced, "Guess what! My mother is going to take me to Diagon Alley tomorrow to get my things!" Looking hopefully at her friend, she asked, "Do you want to go with me? My Mum said it would be all right if you come with us." After a moment, she added, "Petunia isn't going; she said she doesn't want anything to do with 'that freakishness'. So, she's going to go to the cinema with the girl next door."

Hesitating for a moment, he said, "My Mum hasn't mentioned when we're supposed to be going there, so I need to ask her first."

"Go ask her now!" Lily urged. "I'll wait outside while you ask."

Severus sighed inwardly. While he had been inside the Evans home several times and had eaten both lunch and dinner with them on occasion, Lily had never been inside the Snape home. He never knew if his father would be sober on any given day, nor could he invite her there during the work day, never knowing when the old man would show up, fired again from yet another job.

He'd told her that his father was "sick", without specifying exactly what was wrong with him, but Lily had understood. She had an uncle who was an alcoholic, and had often overheard her parents talking about his erratic behavior. But she never let on to Severus that she knew his secret.

"All right," Severus finally said, rising to his feet. It didn't take long for them to get to Spinner's End where the Snapes lived, as the park was closer to his home than hers. They went in through the back way, through the minuscule garden in the back of the Snape home.

"I won't be gone long," Severus promised her as he went to the back door.

Seating herself under the single tree by the fence, "Take your time, I'll be fine. I have a book."

Severus entered the house into the dim kitchen, finding his mother sitting alone at the kitchen table with a cup of tea.

"Back so soon?" Eileen Snape asked him. "I didn't expect to see you until late this afternoon."

"I needed to ask you something right away," he said. "Lily asked if I could come along with her mum to Diagon Alley tomorrow to get her school things."

Heaving a loud sigh, his mother said, "I suppose that would be all right. You'll be using my old books, so you won't be needing to get those. I'll give you my key to the Prince vault at Gringott's. There's enough there to get your supplies for all seven years if you spend wisely."

"Thank you, Mum," he said. "I'll go tell Lily now."

"Stick to the list and don't buy anything extra," she warned. "You can buy one new set of robes, but get the others used and I can freshen them up when you get home." After a pause, she added, "And whatever you do, don't mention any of this to your father. The less we talk about it, the better."

"I won't, I promise." He ran back out the back door after his mother quickly kissed him on the forehead.

Severus was up and out the door early the next morning, wearing the least shabby of his clothes. They were at least clean with no rips or holes in them, even if not in style or well fitting.

He ran all the way to the Evans house, nearly out of breath as he knocked on their front door. To his dismay, it was Petunia who answered the door, her face darkening into a scowl as soon as she saw who was at the door.

"Lily!" she bawled shrilly. "Your freaky _boyfriend_ is here!" After turning on her heel, she shut the door in his face.

The door opened again almost immediately. "Sorry," Lily said with a shrug. "You know how Petunia is."

Before Severus could reply, she beckoned him in. "Come on in. Mum should be ready to go soon. As soon as Petunia goes next door, we'll leave."

Fifteen minutes later, after Petunia had flounced next door in a huff, they got into Mrs Evans' car and set off for London.

Forgetting about Petunia's sour attitude as soon as she was out of sight, Severus and Lily began chatting to pass the time on the ride into the city.

As Mrs Evans turned off their street onto the main road, Severus pulled out a velvet pouch from his jeans pocket.

"I almost forgot to tell you," he said as he showed Lily the contents of the bag. "Last night, Mum gave me her gobstones to take to school with me."

"Didn't you tell me one time that she was president of the gobstones club when she was at Hogwarts?"

"That's right," he affirmed. "She wasn't a very good flyer, so she found something else to be interested in instead of Quidditch."

"Maybe we can join the gobstones club together!" Lily suggested. "How good are you at playing, because I'll need you to teach me."

"I've played a few times with my Mum, enough to know the rules by memory, but I'm no expert."

"That's more than I know, so you can at least teach me the rules", Lily reasoned. "Maybe we'll get a chance to practice on the train, on the way to Hogwarts."

"Maybe ."

Some time later, they entered London, and Mrs Evans looked for a place to park, after Severus had told her which street the Leaky Cauldron was on.

"How are we going to get inside Diagon Alley?" Lily wondered as they started walking after her mother parked the car. "When Professor McGonagall visited to give me my Hogwarts letter, she told me that the entrance was invisible to Muggles."

Severus was the only one of the three who'd been to Diagon Alley before, on the infrequent times his mother had needed to go there for potions ingredients.

"I'll show you," Severus told them. "We'll need a witch or wizard with a wand to open the entrance, but we shouldn't have any trouble finding one inside the Leaky Cauldron. If I had my wand already, I could do it myself, but that's something we'll both get today, so we'll be set on our next visit."

A moment later, Lily saw a black door with a sign hanging over it depicting a witch standing over a cauldron.

"Is that it, Severus?" she asked, pointing at the sign.

"I don't see anything but a blank wall," her mother said, frowning.

"That's it," Severus affirmed. Turning to Mrs Evans, he said, "Remember, Muggles can't see the entrance because it's been warded so that Muggles won't notice it. If you take Lily's hand, you'll be able to see it then."

It was so. As soon as she took her daughter's hand, the door suddenly appeared in front of her, so the three entered with no further ado.

Lily and her mother looked around in wonder as they entered the tavern, filled with people wearing all sorts of odd clothing, some vaguely reminiscent of the Dickensian era. There were people here and there wearing normal clothing as well, so Lily realized she wouldn't be the only Muggleborn at Hogwarts.

Lily spotted Professor McGonagall sitting at a nearby table. "I'm sure she'll be happy to let us in!" Approaching the table, she called out, "Hi, Professor McGonagall! Do you remember me?"

"Of course I do!" the witch said warmly. "How are you Lily?"

"I'm fine," she replied. "I'm here to shop for my school supplies."

"We could use a bit of help getting inside Diagon Alley," Mrs Evans said apologetically.

"Of course," the older woman said. "Would you like me to show you where to buy your things?"

"I appreciate it, but we have a boy with us shopping for his things, whose mother attended Hogwarts, so he's been here before and knows where to go."

Severus Snape came out from behind the Muggle woman, with Minerva McGonagall frowning briefly as she noticed the shabbily dressed boy.

Schooling her facial expression, she asked, "You're Eileen Prince's son, aren't you? I taught her when she was at Hogwarts."

"That's right," he said, having noticed her initial frown. "I'm Severus Snape and I live near Lily and her family. I've been here before, so we'll do fine once we're inside."

Somewhat put off by the boy's manner, she nonetheless agreed to open the barrier for them.

Moments later, Mrs Evans and the two children were inside Diagon Alley, where the Dickensian atmosphere was more pronounced.

After giving Lily and her mother time to take in the quaint surroundings on the busy street, Severus said, "First thing we'll need to do is go to Gringott's Bank, so you can change your Muggle money for wizarding money, and I can visit my mother's vault to withdraw enough to get my supplies." He pointed to a tall white building at the end of the street that had crooked columns.

As they neared the bank, Severus warned them, "Gringott's is run by goblins, who tend to take offense easily. Just treat them with respect and act as if you don't notice anything different about them, and you'll be all right."

Once inside, Severus pointed Mrs Evans to an exchange window. "Ask the goblin there to give you a sheet that explains how wizarding money works, which also shows the exchange rate with Muggle money. Also tell him you'll need enough for a complete set of first year's supplies, plus any extra you might want to spend. Don't worry; they are totally honest." Turning to go to the tall window at the end, he said, "I'll be visiting my Mum's vault while you do that. If you finish before I get back, wait for me in the lobby".

Mrs Evans finished their business first, but did not have to wait long in the lobby before Severus reappeared, carrying a small, green velvet bag of coins.

As they left the library, Severus said, "I already have my books, so I'll get my robes while Lily gets her books. I'll meet you at the robe shop after you're done in Flourish and Blotts."

He pointed at Madame Malkins' shop as they passed it on the way to the bookstore. Because he didn't want Lily to know that most of his robes would be second hand, he added, "Take your time in the bookstore; there might be some extra books you might want to get as well. Don't hurry on my account."

After separating from them, Severus hurried to the used robes shop and quickly found what he needed in about the right size. They weren't too obviously shabby and he knew his mother would be able to make them like new with little trouble. Next, he went to Madame Malkins' and had just finished being measured for his one pair of new robes, when Lily and her mother appeared, books in hand.

Severus sat guarding Lily's new books, while her mother accompanied her to be measured for her robes, and noticed she'd gotten two extra books: Hogwarts, A History and Basic Rune Magic. Not for the first time, he was envious that not only did Lily have all new supplies, but that she'd been able to get extra books as well. He consoled himself with the knowledge that she'd likely let him borrow the extra books once she'd finished them, but he did his best not to feel too envious, but couldn't help but wonder yet again why his mother had to marry a stupid drunken Muggle.

After Lily had finished in the robe shop, they quickly visited the other necessary shops, leaving the best for last: the wand shop.

Mrs Evans looked around with some trepidation as they entered the dusty, shabby building. Wand boxes were stacked haphazardly on all four walls, looking as if they might tumble to the floor at the slightest vibration.

A moment later, they were startled by an elderly man in old fashioned clothing suddenly appearing in front of them.

Peering intently at them for a moment, his gaze fell on Severus. "You're Eileen Prince's son, right? I remember the wand I sold her: hawthorn, 11 inches."

"Yes, that's right," Severus acknowledged.

Turning to Lily and her mother, the old man frowned for the briefest moment. They were a blank to him, with no frame of reference to work with.

"You must be Muggleborn," he decided. "But no matter! I will have the right wand for you. The wand chooses the witch or wizard, you know." Gesturing eagerly to Lily, he said, "Step right up! Which is your wand hand?"

Momentarily bewildered, she finally said, "I'm right handed, if that helps."

Extending a tape measure that suddenly appeared in the air next to him, he urged, "Let's give it a measure then, shall we?" The tape zipped over and quickly measured her arm. After noting the number, Ollivander quickly turned to rummage haphazardly through his vast collection of wands. Moments later, he'd randomly snatched up four or five boxes. Handing her the first wand, he told her,"Give it a swish and a flick".

Lily pointed it at the front door, which flew open and banged closed several times, causing Severus to chuckle.

Snatching it away from her, he said,"Definitely not!"

It didn't take long, however, for Lily to be matched to the proper wand. On her third try, she felt an unmistakable feeling of warmth and familiarity, when she was handed a willow wand.

Oh, excellent," he enthused. "A willow wand should be excellent for charms work!"

It took even less time for Severus. The very first wand he was given, a 13 ½ inch wand made of ebony, started emitting green sparks as soon as It made contact with his fingers.

"Very rare!" Ollivander told them. "I've only seen it happen a handful of times that a wizard or witch gets the right wand on the very first try." Looking intently at Severus, he added, "I predict great things for you, young man!"

Severus wasn't so sure of that, but acknowledged the old wandmaker with a brief, curt nod. His mother had taught him a few jinxes with her wand to defend himself against bullies, but the results had been decidedly mixed. His mother had assured him he'd do better with his own wand and he couldn't wait to find out if she was right.

Mrs Evans looked at her watch after Ollivander had been paid for both wands and had presented both wrapped wands in their boxes to the children.

"I think we'll need to start heading home now," she told them. "We have time to stop for ice cream at that place we saw when we first came in here, but then we must go." Noting Severus' alarmed expression, she added, "It's my treat."

On the first of September, Severus was up before the sun. He'd packed his mother's old school trunk the night before, so there wasn't anything to do but get dressed and eat breakfast. He knew better than to disturb the household this early, so he decided to read until breakfast, as he knew there would be no way he could go back to sleep. His mother had taught him how to cast the Lumos spell, so he was able to read in bed.

Sooner than he expected, the door opened as his mother came in. "Time to start getting ready," she told him. "I've spelled your father to sleep all day, so we can have a good morning and get you off to Hogwarts without his interference."

"Thanks, Mum," he told her gratefully. Arguing with his unreasonable father was the last thing he wanted to do today.

After putting on the least shabby set of clothes he owned and washing up, he joined his mother in the kitchen. To his surprise, she had a fairly decent breakfast waiting for him: eggs, bacon, porridge, and toast. There was also orange juice, along with the usual tea.

Noting his look of surprise, she said, "Can't have you going off to Hogwarts on an empty stomach now, can we?"

"Thank you, Mum," he said quietly, then tucked into his meal with no further ado.

"I also made you a few sandwiches to eat on the train," she told him. "It's a long way to Hogwarts, so you'll need something to tide you over until this evening." Smiling in fond remembrance, she added, "And they'll feed you well at school. There's no such thing as going hungry at Hogwarts."

Moments later, they'd finished eating and Eileen had vanished the breakfast dishes.

"Have you got everything ready to go?" she asked Severus as she put the sandwiches and some biscuits into a bag.

"I packed my trunk last night," he assured her. Swallowing once, he asked, "Are you sure you'll be all right here alone with Dad? I could stay and go to the Muggle school."

"I'll be fine," she assured him. "There's nothing more important than you going to Hogwarts, and I'll manage here. You just be sure to send me an owl at least once a week."

"I will," he promised, relieved that she'd not taken him up on his offer.

Moments later, they stood in the lane behind their house, and Eileen held up her wand to summon the Knight Bus. It appeared almost immediately, gears grinding and smoke spewing out the back as it rattled to a halt in front of them. A loud POW! was the last sound it made before the doors opened to admit them.

It didn't take long to reach King's Cross station, but with all the nausea inducing swerving and abrupt stops to take on more passengers, it seemed much longer. Severus was still feeling a bit woozy as he and his mother went through the barrier at Platform 9 ¾.

They'd gotten there a bit early, so the platform was swarming with people. Severus looked through the crowd to locate Lily for a few moments, before finally spotting her. He scowled as he noted that Petunia was with Lily and her parents, looking at the scene before her with a disdainful expression.

"Isn't that your friend, Lily, over there?" Eileen asked, following her son's gaze.

"Yes, Mum," he replied, wishing Petunia would get lost.

Lily spotted them and waved, then started heading in their direction, her parents in tow. Petunia hung back, still scowling.

"Hello, you must be Mrs Snape," Mrs Evans said, extending her hand to Eileen as they got near. "I'm Lily's mother."

"Pleased to meet you," Eileen said with a wan smile. "Thank you for being so kind to Severus these last two years. I've not been well and haven't been able to do as much with him as I would have liked."

"It's been my pleasure," Mrs Evans assured her. "Severus has been essential in helping us sort out the wizarding world and adjusting to Lily being a witch. We would have been hopelessly confused without his help."

"I'm glad to hear that," Eileen said, her smile brightening a bit. "I'm glad Severus will have a friend starting off at Hogwarts. That will make adjusting to school life so much easier for both of them."

Severus noticed that the crowd was thinning out on the platform. "Mum, I think it's time for us to get on board. The train will be leaving soon."

"Yes, of course," she said, looking around to see the truth of her son's words.

After giving him one last hug, Eileen reminded Severus to owl her at least once a week. Leaning closer, she asked him in a low voice, "Do you remember the hexes and jinxes I showed you? They'll keep the bullies away."

"Yes, Mum," he assured her, holding back a sigh. "I've got it all straight."

Seeing that Lily was also ready to go, Eileen levitated both children's trunks aboard and into the first available empty compartment. After saying goodbye one last time, she returned to the platform, then stood back to wait to wave as the train pulled out of the station. The Evans family stood with her, with Petunia standing as far away from her as possible.

Waving, Severus and Lily watched their relatives from the window as the train pulled out of the station. Once they were out of sight, both children settled back in their seats, getting comfortable for the long ride ahead.

"What should we do now?" Lily wondered a few moments later. "Do you think we should put our robes on now?" She was eager to start her life as a witch.

"No," Severus said. "Mum said that prefects will come around to let us know when we're getting close and we should wait until then."

"How about you teach me some stuff about gobstones?" Lily suggested.

"All right," he agreed, pulling out his bag of gobstones from his jacket pocket, then spreading them out on the seat next to him as Lily watched intently.

However, the snack trolley came along before Severus could get into much detail explaining the game to his friend.

Lily brightened as soon as she saw the trolley. When Professor McGonagall had visited the Evans home, she'd told Lily about the Hogwarts Express snack trolley, so she'd come prepared.

"I think I'll get a little of everything," she said, standing up. "Aren't you going to get something?"

"I've got sandwiches and a few biscuits," Severus responded. "I'll be fine."

Lily mentally berated herself for forgetting that the Shapes were poor. Of course, he'd not have money for snacks. She quickly chose an assortment of candy, making sure to get some extras to share with Severus.

After returning to her seat across from Severus, she spread out her haul on the seat next to her.

Pointing to the box of Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans, Severus warned, "Be careful with those. When they say every flavour, they mean EVERY flavour. I had one that tasted like ear wax one time."

"Surely you're joking," she said, regarding the box with trepidation.

Before he could reply, the compartment door opened and two boys about their same age stepped in. By the cut and fabric of their clothes, Severus could tell that they were likely rich purebloods. One boy was thin with hair as dark as his own. The other was a bit more filled out with messy, lighter brown hair and glasses.

Severus narrowed his eyes when the messy-haired one plopped down right next to Lily, but relaxed a moment later when Lily picked up her things and moved to sit next to him. He gathered up his gobstones and put them away, so Lily would have plenty of room to be comfortable.

The messy-haired boy shrugged, but patted the seat next to him, inviting his friend to take a seat.

Turning to Lily, he said, "Hi, I'm James Potter and this is my new friend, Sirius Black. We're both first years and just met on the train."

He did not look at Severus, nor acknowledge his existence in any way. He'd seen the greasy hair and shabby clothes when he'd first entered the compartment and dismissed him as not worth wasting his time on.

Lily did not notice his snub of Severus. Looking at each boy in turn, she replied, "I'm Lily Evans." Indicating Severus with a nod of her head, she continued, "And this is Severus Snape. We live near each other and have known each other for about two years. He's the one who told me I'm a witch."

Sirius Black smirked at hearing the name "Severus Snape", but did not otherwise react.

Continuing to ignore Severus, James asked, "So you're a Muggleborn then?"

"Yes," she confirmed. "It was a big surprise to find out that magic is real."

"Both Sirius and I are purebloods," James told her. "That means everyone in our families was magical as far back as we can trace. It doesn't mean we are better at magic than a Muggleborn, though."

Sirius Black spoke for the first time. "So, _Snivellus, _are you Muggleborn, too."

Narrowing his eyes, Severus said, "It's Severus, and, no, I'm not Muggleborn. I'm a half blood. My mother is a pureblood from the Prince family."

Lily looked at Sirius, certain that he'd purposely called Severus by the wrong name.

Before she could react further, James quickly asked her, "So, what house do you think you'll be in?"

"I don't know," she said, shrugging. "I'll just trust the Sorting hat to put me in the right house." Indicating Severus, she said, "Severus wants to be in Slytherin. He said it will help one get ahead in the wizarding world. And his mother was in Slytherin, so he'd figure he'd fit in there."

"Slytherin?" Sirius broke in. "What kind of bigoted loser would want to be in Slytherin? It's full of dark wizards and witches. My whole family has been in Slytherin, so I should know. I want to be in Gryffindor, the only house worth being in. Hufflepuff is a lot of duffers and Ravenclaw is a bunch of swots. Trust me, Gryffindor is best." Looking at Lily, he said, "Leave this loser behind. James's family has all been in Gryffindor, so he likely will be, too."

Lily glared at him, not understanding why he was picking on Severus. "I'll pick my own friends, thanks. I don't need a toe rag like you telling me who I should be friends with or what house I should be in."

Adjusting her gaze to include James, she concluded, "I think you two should find another compartment. You've worn out your welcome here."

After they left, Lily and Severus sat in uncomfortable silence for awhile. "I'm sorry that happened," Lily said a few moments later.

"Don't worry about it," he said. "For them to insult me, I'd have to care about their opinion, which I don't." He didn't mention it to Lily, but Severus vowed to keep an eye on those two, planning to use one of the hexes his mother taught him on them at the first good opportunity.

"Let's go back to the gobstones," he said instead. "That should keep us busy for the rest of the trip".

By the time the train arrived in Hogsmeade, they'd both donned their robes and were eager for what would come next.

They were met by a big bear of a man who called for the first years to follow him down to a lake, where several small boats sat waiting for them.

Sticking close together, they climbed into one of the boats, along with two girls they'd not seen before. Severus looked around, and noticed James Potter and Sirius Black enter a boat some distance away, with two other boys joining them, one small and rodent-like and the other with a sickly complexion and shabby robes.

He put them out of his mind, returning his eyes to the big castle on the other side of the lake.

As the boats began to move across the lake toward the castle, Lily said, "I knew it would be big, but I didn't imagine it would be this beautiful."

"My mother had already told me all about it," he told her. "I'm glad to be finally here."

"Me, too," Lily agreed, smiling at him. "I hope we end up in the same house; doesn't matter which one it is."

Moments later, the boats reached the other side of the lake and everyone clambered out, eager to see what would come next. The large man, who'd told them his name was Hagrid, guided them to a tall stone staircase. At the top, Professor McGonagall waited for them, regarding them with an imperious gaze.

After Hagrid had formally turned this new class of first years over to her, she gave them a brief "welcome aboard" speech, then explained the houses to them and the Sorting ceremony they would soon experience. She left them to wait for a few minutes to go check to see if Professor Dumbledore was ready to begin.

Finally, the big moment arrived. Professor McGonagall returned to conduct the group into the Great Hall to be sorted. Inside, were four long tables, each filled with older students separated by their houses. At the end of the long corridor they walked on was a battered hat sitting on top of a plain wooden stool, with the faculty table on a dais facing the students beyond that.

Professor McGonagall presented the group to Professor Dumbledore, who welcomed them briefly before turning it back over to her, so they could get started.

Both Lily and Severus paid little attention to the talking adults, but looked around the Great Hall in wonder. Even after the hat began to sing a rhyme, the two continued to check out their surroundings.

Once the hat was done, Professor McGonagall called for their attention. Advising them that they would be called in alphabetical order, she told them they should sit on the stool when their name was called, at which time the hat would be placed on their head to sort them.

The group watched with bated breath as the Sorting began. Within a short time, each house had gained at least one student. Severus rolled his eyes as Sirius Black was sorted into Gryffindor, just as he'd wanted. Severus could just imagine what the Slytherin Black family would think about that.

"EVANS, LILY!"

Lily perked up when she heard her name called, but she took a moment to squeeze Severus' arm and whisper, "Wish me luck", before trotting off to the stool.

Severus watched intently as she seated herself and the hat was placed on her head. Crossing his fingers, he chanted fervently inside his head, "_Slytherin! Slytherin, please give her Slytherin!"_, even though he knew the odds of the hat placing her there were nearly nil, because she was Muggleborn. Still, there was a first time for everything.

Meanwhile, Lily was amazed to hear the hat talking inside her head.

"_Hmm, a Muggleborn starting a new magical life! Where to put you; that's the challenge! You've got a quick mind, so you'd fit right in with Ravenclaw. And I see that you're a loyal friend, so you'd also be a credit to Hufflepuff."_

As the hat paused to consider, Lily whispered to the hat, "My friend Severus, who is the only friend I have here, wants me to go to Slytherin, because he thinks he'll go there because his mother was Slytherin."

"_Is that where _you _really want to be? Slytherin has never had a Muggleborn and you would be given a rough time there. You will make many friends at Hogwarts and you need to be where your natural talents will thrive the most."_

"I want to go wherever I'll do best," she whispered back. "He and I don't have to be in the same house to be friends."

"_Wise answer. As well as being loyal and having a quick mind, you always want to do what is right, no matter the cost. The house that will allow you to develop your highest potential is…"_

"GRYFFINDOR!"

It was all Severus could do to keep his jaw from dropping to the floor when he heard the hat place Lily in Gryffindor, of all places. It also didn't help that Lily had skipped happily over to the Gryffindor table, without even so much as a backward glance at Severus. He felt sick, almost as if someone had kicked him in the stomach.

His unease grew as the Sorting went on and James Potter had also gone to Gryffindor. Him and that Sirius Black; arrogant prats the both of them. He hoped they would leave Lily alone. His only hope was to ask the hat to put him in Gryffindor as well, as much as he despised the idea.

Finally, his turn came.

"_Another member of the Prince family. Your mother was president of the gobstones club, if memory serves."_

Severus whispered to the sorting hat, "Can you put me in Gryffindor with my friend Lily, so I can look out for her?"

"_Your loyalty is commendable, almost worthy of a Hufflepuff. But you know you'd be miserable there and would not fit in. Your place to shine is…"_

SLYTHERIN!"

As Severus took off the hat, he took a quick glance over at the Gryffindor table, where Lily wasn't paying any attention to his sorting, but was chatting animatedly with her new house mates.

As he walked over to join his new house, he had no way of knowing that this first separation was a harbinger of what was to come in the future.

END


End file.
